The Relevance Of Alcohol Therapy And How Alcohol Addiction And Mental Health Problems Commonly Result In Marital, Divorce, Friendship, And Relationship Problems

Miss Benning was a health instructor at the best known co-educational high school in the county. Although she had been teaching for only a few years, she had already obtained a reputation as an instructor with instructional approaches that inspired and stimulated students to learn and to think.

As an illustration, one Wednesday morning at 10:30 she addressed the pupils in her class and articulated the following: “For the next two or three days we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a general perspective and we are also going to learn about a number of the most highly researched signs of alcoholism from a less general and more explicit point of view.”

“Not all of these alcoholism signs will categorically reveal that someone with a drinking problem is an alcohol addicted individual, but the more signs that an individual exhibits, the greater the probability that he or she is a person who is alcohol dependent.”

Miss Benning then informed the members of the class that each student would be held responsible for examining three alcohol dependence signs and then presenting his or her conclusions to the class via a seven minute oral presentation.

The Students are Energized About Giving An Extensive Presentation to Their Fellow Classmates About The Signs of Alcohol Addiction

After learning about the different signs of alcohol addiction for several days, the time had come for the student presentations. It was instantaneously evident that the pupils were thrilled about the subject matter because the information that they presented was excellent. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the interest manifested by the students in her class concerning this subject could not be overstated.

The day after all of the students completed their presentations, Miss Benning passed out a sheet of paper with a list of all the alcohol dependency signs that were presented and discussed in the presentations and in class. Miss Benning then asked the students in her class to study the list and rank the top five alcohol addiction signs that were most indicative of alcoholism. After roughly ten minutes, Miss Benning collected the sheets of paper and told the pupils in her classroom that after she tallies the numbers, she will reveal her findings the next school day.

There was some real excitement by the students while they were exiting Miss Benning’s class. One could swear that her students couldn’t wait for the next day to come so that they could find out the results of their in-class research.

The Students Match Their Numbers Against the Assessments From A Team of Drug and Alcohol Addiction Experts

When the next school day arrived, Miss Benning passed out a piece of paper that listed the top three alcohol addiction signs as per the students’ rankings. To the left of these results, she included another column that was labeled “correct response.” She then informed her students that the numbers in the extra column she added were the answers that were announced by a group of substance abuse authorities.

Miss Benning told the pupils in her class to look over the information she passed out and then to raise their hand if they had any questions, issues, or concerns. Within 40 or 50 seconds, virtually every pupil in the classroom raised his or her hand. It was obvious that the pupils had some issues, questions, or concerns about their results versus the answers given by the specialists. For example, almost every individual in the class disagreed with the highest ranked answer given by the professionals, namely, “Do you feel exceedingly nauseous when you stop drinking?”

The Primary Difference Between Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol Addiction is the Physical Dependency That is Experienced With Alcohol Dependency and Not With Alcohol Abuse

Miss Benning then explained to the students in her classroom why this answer was the most clear-cut indicator of alcohol dependency. She highlighted the fact that the key difference between alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse is the physical dependency that is experienced with alcoholism and not with alcohol abuse.

Fundamentally this means that when an alcohol dependent individual suddenly quits drinking, he or she will suffer through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

Miss Benning then explained to the students in her classroom that alcohol withdrawal symptoms are responses by the body and by the brain to the lack of alcohol to which they had become acclimated. Stated more explicitly, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are messages from the brain and from the body telling an individual who is addicted to alcohol that something is very out of kilter and needs to be rectified. These signals consist of several painful, dangerous, and uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms that can possibly result in a loss of life if the appropriate treatment is not promptly received.

Miss Benning then discussed the host of alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be experienced when an alcoholic abruptly quits drinking.

The fact that Miss Benning tried to emphasize was this: a person who engages in alcohol abuse can experience almost any and every one of the alcoholism signs that the students had ranked, but the one sign or symptom that few, if any, people who engage in alcohol abuse ever experience is alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

To explain this as overtly as possible, Miss Benning underscored the fact that alcohol abusers, unlike alcohol dependent individuals, are not alcohol dependent and as a result, when they stop drinking, they almost never experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

The Pupils Feel They Have Uncovered A Deviation With the Findings From The Board of Chemical Dependency Experts

The pupils also some difficulty with the second ranked answer given by the alcoholism authorities, that is to say, “Have you ever had a drink the first thing in the morning to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover?”

Miss Benning informed the students in her classroom that this sign does not inevitably denote that the problem is alcohol dependency, but that it does point to the need that alcohol addicted individuals have to drink in order to avoid alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

After Miss Benning explained the significance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the alcohol addicted person, the pupils started to understand the basic difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency.

To add a sense of closure to the topic, Miss Benning asked the pupils in her classroom to take out a piece of paper and answer the following question: “if every person who is alcohol dependent knew about every one of the alcoholism signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms we have studied, what percentage of them do you think would ask for alcoholism rehabilitation?”

After about two or three minutes, Miss Benning asked for the pupils’ responses. While many pupils thought that roughly 70 to 80 percent of people who are alcohol dependent would obtain alcohol treatment if they knew about the facts related to alcoholism signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms, most of the pupils believed that this number would not be less than 65 percent.

The Pupils Were Surprised to Learn That Only 25% of Alcohol Addicted Individuals in the U.S. Get Alcoholism Rehab

To the shock of most of the pupils, Miss Benning acknowledged that according to different scientific examinations, only 25% of the alcohol dependent individuals in the United States seek alcohol rehab. This surprised most of the students because they figured that first hand experience of the appalling facts and statistics linked to alcohol addiction would motivate most of the alcohol dependent people to seek alcohol rehabilitation.

Miss Benning then explained that alcohol dependent people not only need alcohol everyday in order to function but they also require alcohol on an everyday basis so they can steer clear of possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Clearly, the alcohol addicted individual’s need to drink on a daily basis is more powerful than logic or facts. Indeed, due to the fact that the thirst for alcohol is “reality” to the alcohol addicted individual, this is a demanding issue that is difficult to counteract.

The Occurrence of Mental Health Difficulties and Alcohol Dependency Commonly Results in Friendship, Relationship, Divorce, and Marital Problems

Lastly, Miss Benning explained to her students that it is important to comprehend that alcoholism and a variety of mental health problems like depression are highly correlated. What is more, the incidence of mental health issues and alcohol dependency often lead to marital, friendship, relationship, and divorce problems.

The Students are Inspired to Learn About Alcohol Addiction Signs and Symptoms in Today’s Society

A few minutes later the bell rang, signifying the end of the class. Based on the buzz manifested by the pupils when they were leaving the room, Miss Benning knew that she had motivated and stimulated the pupils in her classroom to stop and think about a critical health and social problem that exists in our society.